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BlueCat InterviewsFilmmaker Robert Byington2007 BlueCat Finalist Irin EversJennifer Arzt, Program Director of Script FrenzyWriter/Director John Erick Dowdle2005 BlueCat Finalist Ryan David JahnInterview with Filmmaker Robert ByingtonFrom BlueCat Contributor Sarah Tucker
BlueCat: I read that you were first inspired by intelligent filmmaking at a young age. What films/filmmakers inspired you to work in film? Byington: Just movies I saw where it seemed like I started to get the sense that someone was making the ?lm. For whatever reason I noticed it during Annie Hall in the '80s and Chinatown in the '80s also. Gus Van Sant's first film had a big impact on me, Mala Noche, I'd never see anything like it, and I saw it on TV, by accident, in the early '90s. BlueCat: What drew you to write the Film Harmony and Me? Byington: The Elton John song "Harmony" was a big inspiration, and I started to get an idea for a movie that was oddly based on the song, tonally. 
BlueCat: What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned about screenwriting? Byington: That's a good question, I think the lesson I've learned is that finding your voice involves some trial and error. BlueCat: Your scripts are comprised mainly of very biting humor. What comedic scripts or films had an impact on you? Byington: Raising Arizona, Meet the Parents. The descriptions for the scenes in Love Liza had a really big impact on me, they were so alive. But I don't think that's a comedic script. BlueCat: Your films have unique, somewhat offbeat humor to them. I read that the kind of humor that interests you is intelligent but also 'built on an understanding of language.' Can you elaborate on this quality? Byington: I see language as a kind of music, and the goal with Harmony was to put that across. BlueCat: Is the use of offbeat humor deliberate or does that come naturally to you/your story telling? Byington: I'm afraid it comes naturally. BlueCat: How much of an impact does the city of Austin have on your writing/character? Byington: I think it's made its way into the films in a way that affects the tone, in a way I don't fully understand even. Austin is a special place, no question. BlueCat: You write, direct, and act. Which of the three do you find the most creatively satisfying? Why? Byington: Acting is fun, writing is lonely, directing is hard. BlueCat: What advice do you have for aspiring independent filmmakers? Byington: Don't listen to anyone, starting with Bob Byington. BlueCat: You mentioned in an interview last year that you were going to start filming Seven Chinese Brothers this year. What is the status of that project? 
Byington: We are excited to have Patton Oswalt in the lead, and working on getting the money to line up the way it's supposed to. BlueCat: How did the idea for the script Seven Chinese Brothers come to you? Byington: I saw a movie called Hearts of Atlantis nine years ago, and I said to myself, I can write a movie better than that, and then I spent six days writing a script, really only a few hours each day, certainly no more than 20 total, we'll continue to hope that the finished product is better than Hearts of Atlantis. I don't know though, it's taking a while. At least they got their movie made, and they have Anthony Hopkins in it. BlueCat: What is the most rewarding thing about screenwriting? Byington: I can't think of anything that's too rewarding. I really don't like it. BlueCat: What are the essential elements for a great script? Byington: Very difficult to put your finger on. For more information on Robert Byington, check out his IMDB page. For the latest on Harmony and Me, visit the film's site. Interview with 2007 Finalist Irin EversWriter of Every time I go to Staten Island something bad happens...
He has found work in film in various capacities including time as a script reader, in film development, and in production. His current writing projects include a family adventure screenplay and a family fantasy screenplay, written with John Barlowe. You can more information about Irin Evers and his projects at NeuroticBoyProductions.com. BlueCat: When did you first enter a screenwriting contest? What were your feelings when entering for the first time? What were the results? Irin Evers: I think I started entering screenplay contests around 2004 with my 3rd feature screenplay. I didn't place in any of them, but a handwritten "very close" on my Chesterfield rejection was very encouraging. I vowed to make it in the following year, but my luck, the Chesterfield never happened again. Then my 4th script ("Yard Sale") was my first script to place in a feature screenplay contest - it was a Quarterfinalist in the 2005 PAGE International. It took another two years until one of my scripts ("Every time I go to Staten Island something bad happens...") placed in the top few when it was in the Top 5 of 2,400 in the 2007 BlueCat. That was a huge moment for me. That script also placed in the Nicholl and the Sundance Screenwriting Lab. Then it took another year or so until I won a contest and I've had that luck several times now. Overall, I've won or placed in 41 screenplay contests for 94 awards. Contests are an excellent way to judge how your scripts fare against other aspiring screenwriters. I may not have continued without this encouragement, so I'm grateful. I've made connections from the contests and gotten reads. Contests are a great thing. But not all contests. Writers need to choose wisely which contests to enter. BlueCat: In recent years, the number of screenplay competitions has increased dramatically. What advice do you have to offer writers in regards to selecting which competitions to enter? What should be the criteria for choosing? Irin Evers: Lately I've been saying as often as I can that we writers need to enter the contests that help us and stop supporting the ones that don't. I've started a thread ("2010 Contests to Enter & Why") on moviebytes.com about this and I'm going to list the contests where I'm entering my new drama script. And I'm looking for other writers to give their opinions as well. We need to help each other. I think there are 3 reasons to enter a contest: 1. Get read by the industry: The most jaded will say Nicholl is the only one that fits this bill, but there are other contests that have good sponsors and connections that will read you script if you place in the top few (not as many interested parties as Nicholl and not as deep into the placing scripts, but they still may be worthwhile). 2. Labs, retreats, festivals: Some prizes include networking opportunities (Sundance, Cinestory, Austin, etc.) that are well worth attending if you manage to get accepted. Don't be fooled by some of these festivals that charge you for your ticket, have no industry in attendance and don't help you at all. Other than these prizes and what I mention in #1 and #3, all other prizes are basically worthless in my opinion. They're good to take if you win them, but not worth entering "for" - as in, this is all you get. Money - always good, but you get better odds in Vegas. Inktip, e-query services, etc. - you may as well just pay for them instead of entering the contests. Final Draft - if you want to be a tennis pro, you don't enter a contest to win a racquet, you buy one. This is the only "equipment" you need to write (though I use Movie Magic). So either buy it or use a free one (Celtx), but don't enter a contest because you need it. 3. To make a connection with someone: You might enter BlueCat because you've written a script like "Love Liza" and think Gordy Hoffman will appreciate it. You might enter a script about Springsteen to Champion because you know Jim Mercurio is into him. You might enter Monterey (if it starts up again) because your script is set in Monterey and they might champion it. Local film festivals may champion your script and help get it to the right people. I know that a script with Asbury Park in the title just won the Garden State Film Festival. All of these things and similar ideas are worthwhile and smart. Enter contests that play to your genre, location, social issue, etc. (as long as they can help you in some way). Someone suggested that I add feedback to this list. I don't usually pay extra for feedback, but if you find contests that have worthwhile feedback (and you know you'll get the same or a comparable reader), then that's fine too. I personally spend that money on two script analysts that I've worked with for a long time. Research the contests, check their history, ask around, get more than one opinion. You're spending hundreds of dollars on this. And then please only support the contests that will help you. BlueCat: With the increase in competitions, some writers may feel that they are the best way to get their screenplay out there. What are your thoughts? Irin Evers: There's no magic bullet. The right contests are worth entering, but you have to approach this from as many angles as you can. I spend more time managing my career and educating myself than I do writing. Take control of your career rather than just waiting for contest results. Manage your career: research and submissions; update your website and social networking sites; keep up with contacts; post (and read) on boards (Moviebytes, Done Deal Pro, etc.); queries; cold call to agents, managers and producers to pitch; post and reads scripts online (Triggerstreet, Zoetrope); read friends' scripts; attend festivals and events; etc. Also educate yourself: read screenwriting books and magazines, scripts, blogs; watch films. My wife might say some of these things are procrastinations, but as long as it's script or film related, I think it's very helpful. I'm also a big believer in making films. I know it's a difficult undertaking to say the least, but it really helps your writing in so many ways and you may love directing. BlueCat: In recent online writing communities, you have taken part in discussions in regards to the need for screenwriters to share their experiences with screenplay competitions. What do you hope to accomplish by taking part in such discussions? Irin Evers: We definitely need to help each other to know which are the contests worth entering and the ones that are a waste of money. I'll be open and honest in my moviebytes.com thread. I'm sure I'll piss off some contests, but I figure that those are probably the ones not worth entering anyway. I also want to make sure that I enter the right ones. I remember reading how Telluride IndieFest was a more indie alternative to Telluride, taking place at the same time (a la Slamdance/Sundance). I entered and months later, received a call from the police getting information about this scam of a festival/contest. On the opposite end - after I won Best Short Script at the 2008 Queens Film Festival, I met my future collaborator at the after party. Advice at the 2008 Austin Film Festival plus queries mentioning my contest wins led to me landing an agent. I've also made connections and gotten reads from the contests and festivals. BlueCat: What are your thoughts on "contest burnout?" Irin Evers: Gordy Hoffman once told me to get out of the contest mentality. By this, I think he meant to approach it from many angles (as I mentioned above) and to start calling people to pitch on my own. I need to do more of that. I've made mistakes in the past in choosing which contests to enter. I even had a "contest addiction" - as you can see by the fact that I've placed in 41 different ones. But I'm not going to make those mistakes again and I'm trying to get this information out there. Is your goal merely to win contests or to sell scripts and get your films made? If it's the latter (which it should be), you need to do things to achieve that goal - so entering contests only and/or entering contests that don't help with that are both not helping you achieve your goal as best you can. BlueCat: What does the future hold for you in terms of screenplay competitions? Irin Evers: Follow my thread on moviebytes.com and you'll see the contests I'm entering and why. I'm sending out an indie drama so you might have different contests to enter due to a different genre and with your different goals. But think twice about each submission and what you will/can get from it. And please let me know what you think and your recommendations. Contests are also welcome to let us know their successes. I can be contacted on my website: www.neuroticboyproductions.com. Good luck! Interview with Script Frenzy Program Director Jennifer ArztScript Frenzy Begins April 1
"Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April. As part of a donation-funded nonprofit, Script Frenzy charges no fee to participate; there are also no valuable prizes awarded or 'best' scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 100 pages is victorious and awe-inspiring and will receive a handsome Script Frenzy Winner's Certificate and web icon proclaiming this fact." --(ScriptFrenzy.org) Every year, thousands of writers take part in Script Frenzy. The goal: write 100 pages of scripted material during the month of April. Late last week, Script Frenzy's Program Director, Jennifer Arzt, was kind enough to share some time with BlueCat. Inspiring thousands of writers to produce material under a strict deadline, Script Frenzy continues to grow year after year. BlueCat: Where did the idea for Script Frenzy come from?
We knew that scriptwriting could also work as a similarly great springboard to creative exploration, and the length of a standard script made it an ideal fit for a month's labors. We thought that running a sort of anti-contest writing contest along the lines of NaNoWriMo but focused on movies and plays could help everyday people just dive into the creative process. When we asked NaNoWriMo participants what other kinds of things they would like to write, happily movies and plays were at the top of the list. And thus was Script Frenzy born! BC: What was the first Script Frenzy like? JA: It was great! At that point, NaNoWriMo had about 50,000 participants and we had achieved a reasonable degree of stability. It was nice to get in over our heads again by doing something for the very first time. We learned a ton! The first Frenzy had a 20,000-word goal, took place in June, and only allowed screenplays and stage plays. It turns out that scriptwriters become somewhat violent when you ask them to count words rather than pages, so the following year we changed the goal to 100 pages and everyone was a lot happier. June also turned out to be a tough month because it was the cusp of summer, students were on vacation, and the writerly mojo was low. We also got a lot of emails from folks who wanted to write long TV shows and graphic novels scripts who felt left out of the Frenzy. So we broadened the event's reach in 2008 to include all kinds of scripts. We haven't looked back since. BC: What kind of feedback do you receive from Script Frenzy participants, in terms of what their participation accomplished for their writing? JA: A couple things seem to come up time and again. I'd say the two biggest comments are about the motivating deadline and the habit of writing daily. The deadline is set by us, an external force. We start on April 1, no matter what. There is no wiggle room given and no excuses taken. Either you're in or you're out. I think that the finite quality of an externally set deadline and the rush (or pure fear) of missing it works as an incredible motivator for so many people. The ticking clock of a timed writing event also gets folks writing everyday. (The easiest way to write 100 pages in 30 days is to consistently write 3.3 pages a day.) We hear so many stories from our participants about how easy it is to say no to invitations because they are taking part in Script Frenzy and need to write. I think it gives legitimacy to writing. The habit of writing every day gets formed in April and continues through the rest of the year. BC: What can you tell us about your Young Writer's Program and its goals?
Our goal is to offer excellent writing resources to both teachers leading their students through the Frenzy and to kids and teens participating on their own. We believe that the younger you are when you learn that writing can actually be fun, the better! Not only does our program change the way students feel about writing, Script Frenzy also teaches them that even the most daunting goals are achievable. This April we're expecting over 2,000 kids and teens to write with us, making it our biggest year ever! BC: When did you start the "Municipal Liaison" program? What do Municipal Liaisons do? JA: Municipal Liaisons are chapter heads in Script Frenzy regions all around the world who organize local events that bring participants together to network, write, and celebrate their daring scriptwriting accomplishments. The Municipal Liaison program began way back in 2003 with NaNoWriMo, before Script Frenzy was born or the Office of Letters and Light even existed! When Script Frenzy launched in 2007, the Municipal Liaison program was quickly incorporated. The Municipal Liaisons not only facilitate in-person meetings and provide much-needed encouragement to the scriptwriters, they provide an invaluable link between us at HQ and our far-flung participants! BC: Script Frenzy seems to have a very grassroots feel. How do you maintain the sense of community within Script Frenzy and its participants? JA: I think we feel grassroots because we are grassroots. I wish that we could take all the credit for the sense of community, but the community really takes on a life of its own. When people start writing with a common goal, they reach out and connect with others. Writing is often such a solitary activity that having a team of folks who, though they may not know your story, can commiserate with the experience. I have to give much of the credit to our Municipal Liaisons. They're the ones on the ground who bring local participants face-to-face. We really couldn't achieve the same sense of community without them or their amazing leader here in the office, Lindsey Grant. BC: From year to year, what do you hope to achieve with Script Frenzy? In the next five years?
Year after year, I hope to continually focus Script Frenzy's free resources to our specific pool of participants. My goal is to refine the event to meet the needs of an ever-changing group of writers. There are so many new and exciting ideas in progress! I wish I could tell you all about them now, but then I'd have to... well you know the rest of that line. It is all very exciting! Stay tuned! BC: Do you participate in the Frenzy every year? JA: I do! Some years I end up with a better first draft than others, but I always take part. And I look forward to it every year. As Program Director I have so many people holding me to the goal. It is both wonderful and terrifying. I haven't started outlining for this year's script. Eek. I need to get going! BC: What do you do in Script Frenzy's off-season? JA: After Script Frenzy this year I'll be working to get my first feature film off the ground. Since film school, I've been dying to get back to directing. And, if all goes well, I'll get my first feature moving forward. If you know anyone who has a few million bucks they want to invest, please have their people call my people. BC: If you didn't have Script Frenzy, what would you be doing? JA: Tough question! I'm really not sure. As soon as I found Script Frenzy it felt like a perfect fit. I got right down to business and haven't looked back. BC: Do you have any funny Script Frenzy-related experiences to share? JA: Funnier than how bad some of my dialogue was last year? I don't have any great funny moments, but I do have an embarrassing moment I can share. Please laugh at that stuff, right? Last year, during my speech at the Kick-off Party, I slipped and fell down three stairs. That was "funny." I really wanted to get one of those, "I do all my own stunts" t-shirts after that. Interview with Writer/Director John Erick Dowdle
Writer/Director of the The Poughkeepsie Tapes and QuarantineToday's interview is with one half of the Brothers Dowdle team. John Erick Dowdle, pictured right (on the left), and his brother Drew (on the right), began producing films together in 2005, with The Dry Spell. In 2007, they made The Poughkeepsie Tapes, a faux documentary featuring a serial killer's home movies. The success of The Poughkeepsie Tapes led to a production deal for Quarantine, a 2008 horror film. John Dowdle was kind enough to spend some time earlier this month chatting with BlueCat discussing topics ranging from his early interests in filmmaking to the struggles of making an independent production. Following up Quarantine, the Brothers Dowdle are slated to release an M. Night Shyamalan-produced film entitled Devil, later this year. BlueCat: How did you first become interested in film? John Dowdle: Growing up, I've always been interested in film. But it never occurred to me that there was an actual living to be had in that world. I decided to be a writer when I was 19. I didn't know what capacity or how I'd make a living or anything like that. I was studying English and writing and stuff at the University of Iowa, and I happened to take a Survey of Film course while I was there. It just blew my mind. I had known the Hollywood film. But I didn't know, I hadn't ever seen anything like Tarkovsky, or Godard. These kinds of film [were] so different than anything I had ever seen. Immediately I knew, 'This was it.' This is the thing I want to do: I want to write for movies. And I read an article to the effect of [a] screenwriter saying 'Aww, it's awful. You write this masterpiece and these directors come in and screw it up.' At that point, if a director has to come in and screw up my work, it's going to be me. So then I decided I would study film from a production standpoint, and learn how to make movies, so that I could screw up my own movies. In switching gears to his days of actual production, the interviewer mentions that he has seen the, as of yet, unreleased film The Poughkeepsie Tapes online. Dowdle replies:
BC: Where did the idea for The Poughkeepsie Tapes come from? JD: You know my brother and I, we're a filmmaking duo. And we were sitting at lunch one day. Just going through all sorts of ideas, and it was just one of those things where we were trying to find a way where we could make a lower budget movie that looked like it cost more money to make. We were thinking it'd be ideal if we could do something that had video aspects and film aspects. And you know, we were sort of brainstorming and I said, 'What if we did a faux documentary on a serial killer's home movies?' And Drew was like, 'That's it.' We were actually comedy people before that, and we didn't know if we could actually do this. Do a horror film, or anything scary. And Drew said, basically, 'Drop everything. You should write that. I'll put the money together. And we'll make this.' [S]ix months later, we had shot the whole movie. BC: What's the current status of the film? Wasn't it slated for a theatrical release? JD: MGM bought it. We premiered it at Tribeca in 07, and MGM bought it out of there. [T]hey were going to give it a wide release. [They] spent a lot of money on advertising. And five weeks before the release they pulled the plug on that and a handful of other movies. It was just devastating to us. It's basically unreleased. A couple of other companies are trying to buy it from MGM and release it. We're excited about it, so hopefully it will get into theaters shortly. When MGM wanted to go really wide with it, we were a little nervous about that honestly. It's not really a crowd pleaser kind of film, it's a really upsetting movie. We were like, 'Are you sure you want to go big like this?' Our thought was you should trickle it out. Let people discover it for themselves versus going, you know, major release. It doesn't feel like a studio movie. It feels like the kind of thing you find and show to a friend. It plays great on DVD. It plays great at home, by yourself. It's moody, it's creepy. We'll see how it shakes out. Hopefully it'll be out there shortly. BC: How did you decide to use the first person point of view as a story device? JD: It seemed to make sense. We figured that if a killer was shooting these videos of his victims, then it would just be really scary. The closer we the audience get to a person, the more endangered that person is. We thought that was such a cool, interesting way to show a horror film. There's a scene in the original Halloween from through the eyes of the mask. It sort of did a similar kind of thing, where, the closer you get to the victim, the more you are scared for them. It's kind of fun to make the audience the killer, sort of. BC: Is it challenging to write dialogue for a faux documentary, so that it seems authentic, and as real as possible? Absolutely. It's funny. Real life is full of non-sequiturs. It's full of choppy, hackneyed dialogue. And usually film is the spruced up version of that. It's really fun to having that POV, reality style. The long one-shots we use are really...reality. Real time. It's a big challenge, but it's a really fun challenge to write it as realistic as possible. There's one scene where he picks up a woman on the side of the road, she's in the back of the car, he traps her. It's a six minute long scene, and the entire thing is done in one close-up, one take. It's all dialogue, you don't see anything happen. And it's the scariest scene in the movie. And it's terrific, and it's awful, but it's all dialogue. BC: So after the success you had with The Poughkeepsie Tapes, you were given Quarantine.
JD: It's tricky. You know the studio world is filled with such difficult challenges. And they're very different ones. In the indie world, you spend half the film thinking, 'Oh my god, I hope our checks don't bounce. If the art department crashes another truck, we're gonna be ruined.' On a studio movie, that's somebody else's problem in a way, not completely, but the money is there. If something doesn't show up and it should have, it's not going to ruin you, personally, financially. And there's distribution guarantee, which is such a huge weight off. The Poughkeepsie Tapes, when we made that, we didn't know for sure that we'd be able to sell it. Very few things that year sold. We had borrowed money, invested half a million dollars, and we had no idea whether we'd [get a] return, and we hoped we'd get a return. Everyone believes they will, but you don't know for sure. It was our second film, and the first one hadn't made a profit. With a studio movie, that's not a problem. The other side of that, both good and bad, is that you have other people pushing you in a direction, or sometimes multiple directions. And that can be difficult at moments, and that can be helpful at moments. There's moments in The Poughkeepsie Tapes where Drew and I were staring at the editing screen saying, 'I wish somebody who was really smart, and knew the marketplace really well could give us a couple of tips. If we just had a couple of more smart people sitting in the room giving us notes and stuff, that would just help.' Sometimes you just don't know at the end of the day. With a studio movie there's a lot of people with a vested interest in it. And a lot of really smart people, and that's really helpful at moments. But the fact that you have to listen to them, is a very difficult at moments. BC: What is your approach to screenwriting? Do you have a writing process? What is the collaborative process with your brother like? JD: Basically, we discuss everything up and down. Then usually I'll pull myself away for a weekend, or a three-day weekend or something like that, and try to bang out a first draft. Then we will get together and analyze it and study it, then make a bunch of notes, then start to do it like that. We're not huge outliners. By the time we sit down to write something, we have a pretty clear sense of what it is, but not exact. When we were kids, I used to basically rewrite song lyrics. And I'd show them to Drew. And Drew would tell me what he did and didn't like. And then I'd go back and rework it. And that's sort of how even our process is. I sort of throw a bunch of paint at the wall, and he comes in and helps me sculpt it. It's great--he has a great analytical mind, and I've got a more intuitive mind--where the combination of the two works really well together. BC: What filmmakers have influenced you? JD: So many. Let's see. We just finished a movie with M. Night Shyamalan. And he was, he's become a wonderful mentor to us. He's a smart, smart cookie. Really, really, nice guy. He's high up on the list. Kurosawa, Scorsese, Hitchcock is way up there. Oliver Stone, he made those really personal earthshaking movies when I was growing up. Fellini, 8 ½ is one of my favorite movies. I'll stop there. I could list all day. BC: What can you tell us about your most recent project, Devil? JD: That it is a supernatural thriller. And honestly I don't know what I can tell you. M. Night Shyamalan is very secretive about things and. The financier is also very secretive. I worry about what I can and cannot say. We just finished shooting on December 16th. We're starting post tomorrow. We'll be in post until June sometime, I believe the movie will be coming out in October. 
BC: What was it like working with M. Night Shyamalan? JD: It was wonderful. It's sort of great having someone like Night Shyamalan available and around and just sort of discussing how he would do something, and how I would normally do something. It became this wonderful chance to get a lot of wonderful insight from someone who's been doing this successfully for a number of years. We learned so much in this process. It was nice too, because he theologically has a similar sense of shooting. We, in Quarantine we did a lot of long one shots without shooting much coverage, and that kind of stuff, it's a very difficult thing to do, and he shared a similar sensibility about that. He's definitely not a very 'edity' filmmaker. He depends more on blocking, on getting it right on set. It was nice for us to do a bigger studio movie, getting the studio-level talent to work with us. Having someone like Night Shamalan available to bounce ideas off of and to brainstorm pieces of the script. It was pretty amazing. It's great having smart people available. I think a lot of why people get better as they go as filmmakers is they get to surround themselves with smarter and smarter people. And I think that's absolutely true in our case. You know, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, my brother in law Steve Chbosky, who is a wonderful writer, came on as an exec producer early on, and helped with a lot of advice that helped us immensely. On Quarantine we had a lot of really smart people involved. Night Shyamalan is a wonderful producer. BC: What advice do you have for aspiring screenwriters? JD: My advice, more than anything else, would be: just keep doing it. Just keep working. One thing I realized a long time ago was, right before we started getting a lot of stuff out there, I was always so nervous about showing any people anything I had worked on. There's this insecurity, like if I show people what I've written and they don't think it's good, then that means I'm not good. There was a point at which I realized, the people who get respect, are the people who are doing it. The people who, the quality doesn't matter if its good or bad at the end of the day. If someone is showing up making a movie a year, eventually that's going to work. Those are the people I found myself really respecting. 'Hey this guy is a terrible filmmaker, but he makes a movie every year.' That's incredible. Those are the people that I respect. Versus the genius who's never shown anyone anything he's written. We decided let's be like that, let's get our stuff out there, and take our lumps. But let's keep pushing. Let's keep fighting forward. There was one year, where I wrote 12 scripts in one year. All told there was 65 total drafts--I tallied this at the end of the year, it was an insane year for me. I wrote 65 drafts of scripts that year. Not one of those scripts has ever been produced, but that gave me the tools going forward that I needed. I think it's just a matter of just keeping doing it, and just keep putting yourself out there. Don't stop. 
Ryan David Jahn Interview2005 Finalist, Screenplay Live WinnerRyan's BlueCat entry, The Break-In, tells the story of what happens after a man kills a burglar in self-defense, and elects to leave the body in his bathtub, setting out on an obsessive hunt to discover the identity of his victim, who happens to be his identical twin. A finalist in 2005, the script was treated to a live reading at the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, New York. On the heels of the release of his latest novel, Acts of Violence, Ryan was able to spend some time reflecting on his history with screenwriting. BlueCat: How did you start writing screenplays? Ryan David Jahn: I wrote a few (unpublishable) novels when I was in my teens and early twenties. Then I got an idea for a screenplay-even before I wrote a word, it seemed like a movie to me-so I wrote one. That led to other screenplays. I'm not sure why. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about why I do things or what it means. BC: Could you please describe your experience with BlueCat? How did being named as a finalist and winning Screenplay Live in 2005 help your writing career? RDJ: I submitted a script. It was a finalist and was treated to a staged reading/performance at the High Falls Film Festival. It was the first time I'd seen anything of mine performed, so it was an interesting, enlightening experience. Words take on a different texture when spoken aloud. I think it's probably a good idea for any writer to hear his or her stuff read aloud. Sol Stein suggests getting the worst actor you know to read your stuff aloud to you, as a bad actor will be incapable of making bad sentences sound good. This strikes me as a great idea. And since I'm the worst actor I know, I usually just record myself reading and listen back to it. BC: Any updates on The Break-In? RDJ: It's been optioned a couple times, but both options expired. Earlier this year I took the basic premise and the main character and wrote a novel using them. It's quite different from the screenplay, and not really based on it so much as built from the same raw material. Macmillan will be releasing the novel in July as Low Life, a title more appropriate for this new incarnation. BC: What is your process in terms of taking a story idea from a thought to an actual script? RDJ: Usually I just think of an idea and a character, let them float around my mind for a few months, by which time the character has a fuller personality and I have some idea of where the story will go, and then sit down and write. If there are a lot of characters, I'll write down their names, ages, and their relationships with one another, but I don't generally write down my plans for a script. Or a novel, for that matter. BC: How do you combat writer's block? RDJ: I don't know. I go through stretches where I don't much feel like writing, but then I just don't write. If you've got no deadlines and don't feel like writing, I don't see any reason to force the work. Save the Puritan work ethic for the Puritans. "Write every day" only applies-as far as I'm concerned-if you're in the middle of a project. Otherwise, I see nothing wrong with not doing a damn thing but staring out the window and drinking coffee. But if you do happen to have a deadline, then you sit down write. At that point, it's not about anything but being a
BC: Where do you find inspiration for your work? RDJ: Everywhere. BC: What would you like to be doing 10 years from now? RDJ: Same thing I'm doing now. Hopefully, though, I'll be doing it better. Our thanks to Ryan for his time. Look for his book giveaway coming soon. In what The Guardian calls "[p]owerful, compassionate and authentic...", the novel "...works both as a mystery and as a snapshot of America in the early 1960s." Acts of Violence was released in the UK on November 6th. It will be available in bookstores on December 2nd in Australia, and February 10th in Canada. It is also available worldwide online. |
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This past spring, I had the chance to interview independent filmmaker, actor, and writer Robert Byington. Using his own unique wit, Byington answered questions about inspiration, humor, and how a location affects story telling. One thing's for sure, this storyteller keeps you on your toes.
Today's interview is with 2007 BlueCat Finalist Irin Evers. Irin is an accomplished writer, having won or placed in 41 major screenplay contests, winning more than 90 awards in competitions such as the Nicholl Fellowships, the Sundance Lab, and the Austin Film Festival. Irin has also made a number films, which have been screened at numerous festivals, winning five awards.
Jennifer Arzt: From running 
Unfortunately, we found that people who loved movies or plays shied away from penning scripts because they mistakenly believed it took months to learn the formatting rules (or hundreds of dollars to buy expensive software).
JA: Script Frenzy's Young Writers Program offers a kid- and teen-friendly version of the main program to budding writers and educators. The YWP site allows young writers to set reasonable page-count goals for their age/grade, and provides them with grade-appropriate scriptwriting boot camps and corresponding downloadable workbooks; our program sets out to teach students everything they need to know about scriptwriting, from plot development to script formatting, before April 1. For teachers, we've developed three tracks of California State Standardized lesson plans: one for elementary, one for middle school, and one for high school. These lesson plans are also offered for free, and correspond with the boot camps and workbooks.
JA: Heading into our fourth year, the number of participants has sky rocketed and the core demographic has shifted. In our first year, there were a good deal of writers who came over from our sister event, National Novel Writing Month. In the second year, we really saw a huge influx in scriptwriters. Since then, the number of participants who write exclusively scripts (versus novels) had continued to grow.
What kills me, is that online there's a rough cut online, which is not the completed film. I wouldn't mind the piracy as much, if it was at least the right movie. The rough cut that got leaked...the movie is actually much better, when you see the actual finished film.
What was the transition like, going from being an independent to a studio picture?
professional and getting the work done. Deadlines and gas bills can be very inspiring.